Kelly Slater skipped Mavericks because it wasn't a sanctioned world surfing tour event

PRINCETON-BY-THE-SEA -- Eleven-time world champion Kelly Slater withdrew from the Mavericks Invitational because it wasn't a sanctioned world surfing tour event, he told this newspaper Sunday.

"Just a simple reason," the Michael Jordan of surfing wrote in an email. "I didn't feel like trying to battle it. Hopefully we can figure it out for the future and I can surf next year. It's been too long."